"Can't Put a Price on Love" is a 1980 song written by

Doug Fieger Douglas Lars Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band The Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the ...

and

Berton Averre Berton Leslie Averre (born December 13, 1953) is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist and one of the founders of the band The Knack. That group had a No. 6 UK / No. 1 US hit with "My Sharona", which sold 10 million copies in ...

. It was originally released by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pop group

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, "My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a no ...

on their second album, '' ...But the Little Girls Understand''. It was the second song from that album that was released as a single, reaching #62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, falling short of the performance by its preceding single, "

Baby Talks Dirty "Baby Talks Dirty" is a 1980 Top 40 single written by Doug Fieger and Berton Averre from the Knack's second album, ''...But the Little Girls Understand''. Like the album it was taken from, "Baby Talks Dirty" fell short of the success of its prede ...

", which reached #30 in ''Cash Box'' and #38 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. Overall, it was the fourth single which The Knack had released, and was the first such release which did not reach the Top 40.

Lyrics and music

In his scathing review of ''...But the Little Girls Understand'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

wrote "All of Fieger's lyrics finally boil down to one sentiment: f*** me, honey. (When he's feeling ambitious, he writes something like 'Can't Put a Price on Love,' which translates: f*** me for free, babe.)" ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' was kinder, noting that the song provided a slower contrast to the faster songs on ''...But the Little Girls Understand'', and that there was "a kick in the lyrics," i.e.: :''You smoked me like a

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

'' :''I was burning, I was cast aside'' :''Now you knew what you couldn't get'' :''So you settled for my pride.'' ''

'' found it to be an improvement over the Knack's previous single "

," describing it as a "midtempo,'60's flavored pop tune" and stating that "Fieger shows honest emotion in his vocals." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "an unpretentious, honest love ballad." ''

'' also said that "trembly guitar and echoed snare shots give a raw edge." Calling the song a "power ballad", ''Record World'' said that "the Knack shows a more subtle side that profits from

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi ...

's glossy production." ''Classic Rock History'' critic Skip Anderson rated it as the Knack's 10th best song and noted a resemblance to

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in 1972, and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, they got their name from a paint can. The clas ...

. ''Cash Box'' and other critics commented on the similarity between "Can't Put a Price on Love" and the 1978

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' song "

Beast of Burden A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for tr ...

". Jim Sullivan of the

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig and ...

claimed that "the guitar line from 'Can't Put a Price on Love' is nicked directly from the Stones' 'Beast of Burden.'" However, in an interview, Fieger denied that the song is an

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

to "Beast of Burden," stating "The reality to that is that it was a homage to any number of

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

songs which 'Beast of Burden' was a homage to." Fieger has acknowledged that, like many songs on The Knack's first two albums, "Can't Put a Price on Love" was written about the same Sharona Alperin who inspired "

My Sharona "My Sharona" () is the debut single by the Knack. The song was written by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger, and it was released in 1979 from their debut album, '' Get the Knack''. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, w ...

Other appearances

"Can't Put a Price on Love" was first released in February 1980 on the album ''..But the Little Girls Understand'', and then as a single in April 1980, as a follow-up to "

." Subsequently, "Can't Put a Price on Love" was released on several Knack compilation albums, including ''The Retrospective: The Best of The Knack'' (1992), ''Very Best of The Knack'' (1998) and ''Best of The Knack'' (1999). The version which was released on ''Very Best of The Knack'' was the single edit rather than the original album version.

"(Havin' a) Rave Up"

The B-side of the "Can't Put a Price on Love" single was "(Havin' a) Rave Up," which had also been released on ''...But the Little Girls Understand'', and also was written by Fieger and Averre. "(Havin' a) Rave Up" was written well before ''...But the Little Girls Understand'' and was included in the band's live set even before their first album '' Get the Knack''. Live performances of "(Havin' a) Rave Up" were included on the live

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

of The Knack's 1979 concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, ''The Knack Live at Carnegie Hall'', and on a live CD of the band's 1978 concert in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, ''Havin' a Rave Up''. Dave Marsh of ''Rolling Stone'' claimed that the song was based on cliches from

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' claimed that the song was "more than a nod to

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

." ''

'' called it "tasty mainstream rock ‘n’ roll as only The Knack could perform it."

References

{{authority control 1980 singles The Knack songs Capitol Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Songs written by Doug Fieger Songs written by Berton Averre 1980 songs